October 9th, 2008

Following David's departure from Naked Flame the month before, the band was in need of a new vocalist, with the knowledge of the heart attack he had suffered during their last live performance having become widespread amongst fans and observers alike. The remaining four members, Brad, Lindsey, Hannah and Travis, had believed they would have difficulty finding someone who could replicate his sound, but they were determined not to give up yet. They embarked on a search for a replacement vocalist and one entrant's audition stood head over heels above the rest, leaving the band completely blown away - an orange fox by the name of Terrence Vance who went by the stage name Atla Terigon.

However, as glad as Brad was to hire him, and as delighted Terrence was to be inducted, he couldn't help but wonder how he would fare on the stage once he had learned all of the songs he was to perform. The band had dealt with stage fright in their younger days, and following a time Brad had accidentally sprayed a fan when he'd caught him suddenly from behind, he felt especially nervous of how Terrence would handle his role as frontman. He had incredible singing, screaming and growling voices, but all of them sounded very different from David's styles, leading the band to wonder how their fans would take to him.

It was to prove a tense and nerve wracking few weeks as Terrence learned the band's music during their rehearsals. The fox seemed to handle the rehearsals well, and none of them made any mistakes during the jamming sessions in the week before the concert. Finally, the day of the concert came, and Naked Flame was the second band to go onto the stage that day. The first good sign came when the crowd cheered ecstatically on seeing Terrence for the first time - the thing that had pressed on Brad's conscience over the last week. And as the band launched into their first song, the crowd followed their every move as Terrence's harmonic voice wove through the melodies of Hannah and Lindsey's guitars like a driver weaving in and out of fast moving traffic, and added further pace to Travis' quickly paced drumming and Brad's intricate basslines. Even though Terrence hadn't tried to emulate David's sound, the audience had taken to him in the delight that the band had been dearly wishing for. This was the beginning of the next big era for them.

In order from left to right:
Brad Darke: Bass, backing vocals and songwriting
Travis McCallister: Drums and percussion
Terrence Vance: Lead vocals, lyrics and programming
Hannah Pearce: Lead guitars, songwriting and programming
Lindsey Forrester: Rhythm guitars

And here we have a beautiful commission made by my dear friend ReokuKurosai, featuring for the first time in a very long while, Atla Terigon, one of Zeara's characters. Naked Flame showcases their new vocalist for the first time and is met with a delighted response - who knows where this new venture will take the band? :3

Original image: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13453121/